Rail-clamping device for metal ties



.l. W. CHAMPION.

RAIL CLAMPING DEVICE FOR METAL TIES.

APPLICATION FILED FEB- 25,1919- Patented Aug. 24, 1920.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

J. W. CHAMPION.

RAIL CLAMPING DEVlCE FOR METAL TIES.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 25. 1919.

1,350,855. v Patented Aug. 24,1920.

- 2 SHEEIS-SHEEI 2.

ficient space below the the track is straight away,

latter to prevent upward movement.

JOHN W. CHAMPION, or PUEBLO,

RAIL-CLAMPING DEVICE FOR COLORADO.

METAL TIES.

Application filed February 25, 1919.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN IV. CHAMPION, a citizen of the United States, 'esiding at Pueblo, county of Pueblo and State of Colorado, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rail- Clamping Devices for Metal Ties; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention such as will en- .fble others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the characters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

lVIy invention relatesto improvements in railway rail-securing devices adapted to be employedinconnectionwitht-hemetalties. In this application I have assumed that a hollow metal tie is employed, there being suftop or rail-engaging portion of the tie for the introduction of parts of the rail-securing devices. My improvement involves both a rail clamp and a rail brace, the latter to be employed at the outer side of the rail on curves only. IVhere or in a straight line approximately, the so-called rail clamp wouldbe employed on both sides of the rail.

In my improvement I utilize both in connection with the rail clamp and the rail brace, a key and a key-keeper, the keeper being so applied that it can not move upwardly after it is positioned in the assembled relation with the other parts; and its upper extremity is bent downwardly over the key, thus locking the latter against upward movement. The rail brace and the rail clamp are each provided with a jaw, occupying a position below the top of the metal tie and adapted to engage the lower surface of the Each jaw portion is inserted into an opening in the top of the metal tie far enough to brin it below the lower surface of the top of the tie, and is then turned into its proper position to correspond with the securing-posi tion of the upper clamp or rail brace member of the device, as'the case may be.

Having briefly outlined my improvements, I will'proceed to describe the same in detail, reference being made to the accompanying drawing, in which is illustrated an embodiment thereof. In this drawing:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of a rail and metal tie, showing my improved rail clamp Specification of Letters Patent.

Serial No. 279,086.

and brace in position and arranged in cooperative relation on opposite sides of the rail. 7

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the structure, or a view looking at the side of the rail on the rail clamp side, the tie being shown in end elevation.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the key.

Fig. 4 is a section taken through the rail and tie where the fastening devices are located.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary section of the rail and tie, showing the key-keeper in elevation.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary top plan view of the rail and tie, illustrating the manner of positioning the rail brace, which is shown inthe position when the key-keeper must be introduced in order to enter the opening in the'tie.

Fig. 7 is a horizontal section taken through the shank of the rail clamp or rail brace, cut-ting the key and key-keeper, showing fragments of the rail and tie in top plan view.

Fig. 8 is an underneath view of the rail brace, the shank thereof being shown in cross section. This is also a view looking in the direction of arrows 8, Fig. 4.

Fig. 9 is a section taken through the shank of the rail brace, looking downwardly.

The same reference characters indicate the same parts in all the views.

Let the numeral 5 designate the metal tie, which is hollow, as shown at 6, below the top 7 thereof and between the downwardly extending side parts 8. The rail which crosses the tie at right angles is designated by the numeral 9. The top of the tie on opposite sides of the rail is provided with openings, 10, elongated in the direction of the length of the rail and. adapted to receive the lower jaw portion, 12, of a rail clamp, 8, or a rail brace, 9, as the case may be, when thisjaw portion is properly positioned in the opening or so that the upper rail-securing portion, 13, of the rail clamp, for instance, occupies a position at right angles to its normal or rail-securing position. Between the part 12 and the part 13 ofthe rail clamp is located a shank, 14, which is of such diameter as to pass through the opening 10 of the tie, regardless of its position. This shank is for the most part circular, but is made flat on one side, as shown at 15, so that the key-keeper 17 will fit the same when the parts are assembled, as hereinafter more Patented Aug. 24, 1920.

fully explained. The part 13 of the rail clamp has a relatively short projection, 18, which engages the base, 19, of the rail; and a relatively long part 20, which engages the top of the tie, its outer extremity having a shallow, tie-engaging projection, 21, while the part 18 has a similar projection 22, which engages the base 01 the rail. The length of the part 20 of the rail clamp is such that it maybe bent to cause the part 21 to occupy a relatively lower position when tor any reason this may be necessary, as in case the clamp should become worn so that otherwise there would be a tendency to looseness.

Arranged in coiiperative relation with the rail clamp or brace, as the case may be, and with the key-keeper, is a key, 23, having an enlarged head, 24, and a downwardly extending wedge-shaped shank or body member, 25, which fits tightly within the opening, 10, in the top of the tie when the parts are assembled, and fills the otherwise vacant portion of the opening when the rail clamp and key-keeper are in position for use. This key-keeper, as illustrated in the drawing, preferably consists of a relatively thin piece of metal. having a lower jaw or offset, 26, adapted to engage the under surface of the top of the tie when the parts are assembled. It also has a jaw, 27, arranged in opposing relation to the aw 26, and adapted to engage the upper surface of the top, of the tie. Furthermore, the keeper has aprojection, 28, adapted to overlap and engage the base of the rail when the parts are assembled, the jaw 28 being on the opposite edge of the keeper from the jaws 26 and 27.

In applying the rail clamp, the jaw portion 12 is inserted lengthwise in the opening 10 of the tie, after which the rail clamp is turned in the direction of arrow at, until it reaches approximately the position shown in Fig. 6, when the key-keeper is introduced, this being the only position of the brace which exposes a sufficient length of the opening 10 in any direction for the introduction of the lower jaw portion of the key-keeper, since this portion must pass through the opening 10 in order that its jaw 26 may engage the lower surface of the top of the tie. The section portion of the key-keeper in Fig. 6 is taken on the line (3 -6, Fig. 5. As soon as the key-keeper is in place, the rail clamp and keeper are moved in the direction of the arrow (1, (see Fig. 6) until the upper part, 13, of the clamp is in operative position; In this position the opening 10 has a vacant space of considerable size, and adapted to receive the wedge-shaped shank, 25, of the key 23, which is introduced and moved downwardly until all parts are tightly secured. The top portion, 29, of the keykeeper is then bent downwardly into engagementwith the top of the key, as best illustrated in Fig. 2, and the rail clamp is then secured in cooperative relation with the rail and the tie.

As heretofore explained, on straight lines of track these railclamps are arranged in opposing relation on opposite sides of the rail, but on curves I prefer to employ a rail brace, 9, on the outside of the outermost rail. The lower portion of this rail brace is of precisely the same construction as the corresponding portion, 12, of the rail clamp, and it will, therefore, not be necessary to repeat the description of this portion thereof. The upper part of the brace, or that above the tie, has a shallow projection, 30, which engages the top of the tie, and a similar projection, 31, which engages the base of the rail. Furthermore, this brace extends upwardly, as shown at 32, and its upper extremity is shaped, as shown at 33, to lit the outside part of the ball 34 of the rail, thus ailiori'ling maximum bracing security to the outer rail on curves.

This rail brace is introduced or applied in the same manner as the rail clamp, and a ke 23, and a key-keeper, 17, are employed in connection therewith, as wellillustrated in Figs. 1 and 4.

Having thus described my invention, what- I claim is:

1. In combination, a rail, a metal tie engaged by the rail, the tie having an opening adjacent the rail, a rail-holding device having a shank occupying said opening and having a jaw extending inwardly beyond the shank and adapted to engage the tie from below, the device having a rail-base-engaging part above the shank and an opposing tie-engaging part also above the shank and extending outwardly beyond the shank and engaging the'top of the tie, the opening in the tie occupied bythe shank being elongated in a direction. parallel with the rail, a

key inserted in the opening and lying alongside the rail, and a keykeeper also inserted in the opening and lying alongside the rail and engaging the key to retain the same, said device having a bracing portion extending upwardly into enga ement with the side portion of the ball of the rail.

2. In combination, a rail, a metal tie en gaged by the rail, the tie having an opening adjacent the rail, a rail-holding device having a shank occupying said opening and having a jaw extending inwardly beyond the shank and adapted to engage the tie from below, the device having a rail-base-engaging part above the shank and an opposing tie-engaging part'also above the shank elongated and extending outwardly beyond the shank and having a projectin bearing engaging the top of the tie, said eIongated portion being adapted to be bent downward to increase the tension of the opposlte portion on the rail, the opening in the tieoccupied by Ill the shank being elongated in one direction, gaging the top of the tie, each opening in the and a key inserted in said opening. tie being extended in the direction of the 3. The combination with a rail and a metal length of the rail, a key inserted in said extie the latter having an opening on opposite tension, and a key-keeper located between sides of the rail, rail clamping devices rethe rail-holding device and the key and spectively positioned on opposite sides of having portions arranged respectively above the rail, each of said devices having a shank and below the top of the tie, the top of the occupying the opening in the tie, a lower jaw keeper being adapted to be bent down over extending inwardly beyond the shank to enthe top of the key. gage the top of the tie from below, an upper 5. The combination with a rail and hollow jaw extending inwardly from the shank into metal tie having an opening adjacent the engagement with the base of the rail, and base of the rail on each side, of a rail clampanother jaw extending outwardly beyond ing device located on each side of the rail and the shank and engaging the top of the tie, having a shank occupying one of the open each opening in the top of the tie being enings in the tie, the said device having a jaw 51 i) larged in one direction a key inserted thereextending inwardly beyond the shank and in and a key-keeper also inserted therein and engaging the top of the tie from below, a located between the rail-holding device and portion above the shank and extending in the key and having portions located respecwardly into engagement with the base of the tively above and below the top of the tie to rail, and another portion located above the 55 engage the top of the tie on the under and shank and extending outwardly therefrom upper faces thereof, the top of the keeper and engaging the top of the tie, each openbeing adapted to be bent down over the top ing being extended in the direction of the of the key. length of the rail to receive the lower jaw at. The combination with a rail and metal portion of the rail-holding clamp when tie, having a cavity below the top, of two properly positioned, a key inserted in said rail-holding devices respectively arranged opening and a key-keeper also inserted in on opposite sides of the rail, each of these the opening and having projections respecdevices having a shank adapted to occupy tively engaging the top of the tie, both above a hole formed in the tie, a jaw below the and below, the upper portion of the keyshank engaging the top of the tie from bekeeper being adapted to be bent downwardly low, a portion above the shank projecting over the top of the key. inwardly therefrom to engage the base of In testimony whereof I affix my signature. the rail and another portion above the shank and extending outwardly therefrom and en- JOHN CHAMPION. 

